Talk:Nicene Christianity

Requested move

The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the debate was no clear consensus. I see three different proposals here: moving the article to Late Antique Christianity, merging with Ecumenical Councils#The first seven Ecumenical Councils, and moving to Era of the Seven Ecumenical Councils. As it doesn't seem that the original suggested move to Late Antique Christianity is still desired, and as you folks can perform the move to Era of the Seven Ecumenical Councils or merge this yourselves, I'll leave the rest to you unless you have something that needs an admin. Kyle Barbour 23:29, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

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There has been a proposal/attempted move of this article to the title Late Antique Christianity. lostcaesar (talk · contribs) stated that the new title is more academically correct. I don't know much about this time period, but as all current links go to the Nicene Christianity title, I'm seeking broader input before completing the move. Lostcaesar please weigh in with more detail on your opinions for the move if you will? -- nae'blis 18:09, 28 January 2007 (UTC)

Antique and Primitive are certainly names that are used, but they obviously aren't NPOV. Nicene is a fairly standard and NPOV term, as in: Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, for those that don't know, Nicene stands for First Council of Nicaea (and its Nicene Creed) which is generally considered a signficant historical time point. 75.0.6.54 03:50, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

The standard academic term for the era post Constantine but pre-Islamic invasions is "Late Antiquity", and this is used in relation to Church History adacemically, e.g.:

• Bart D. Ehrman, Christianity in Late Antiquity, 300-450 C.E.: A Reader
• A.D.(Doug) Lee, Pagans and Christians in Late Antiquity
• Gillian Clark, Women in Late Antiquity: Pagan and Christian Lifestyles
• T. W. Hillard, Ancient History in a Modern University: Early Christianity, Late Antiquity and Beyond

I am not absolutely set on this title. I am just trying to help out, and if we want to use something else, that's fine. An older distinction, historically, was to separate the Ancient and Medieval worlds by the date 476, the year of the last official Western emperor. This is what Walton's book of Chronological and Background Charts of Church History does. Sometimes other divisions are made, e.g. Apostolic Fathers, Ante-Nicene Fathers, Post-Nicene Fathers. A text book of mine, Gerberding and Cruz, Medieval Worlds, goes "Early Christianity (30-500)" and "Early Medieval Church (500-800)"

The real trouble here is that "Nicene Christianity" is confusing because it usually means something besides the "history of the Church Constantine / Theodosius to Charlemagne." It can also refer to the kind of Christianity that developed post the two Nicene councils into definitive orthodoxy, hence contemporary Catholicism, Greek Orthodoxy, and (to an extent) traditional Protestantism are all examples of "Niecne Christianity", i.e. they believe the Nicene-Constantinople Creed(s) of 324 / 381. So it has nothing to do with a historical period of the Church. For example, Christopher R. Seitz, Nicene Christianity: The Future for a New Ecumenism, the editor's gloss says:

What was the relationship between the church, Scripture, and the creeds of the early church? What implications do these creeds, specifically the Nicene Creed, have in today's postmodern, ecumenical context?

Nicene Christianity presents some of the world's premier theologians in an exploration and exposition of the Nicene Creed and explores the practical implications of confessing the Creed as Christians, then and now.

I don't see what is PoV about "Primitive" and "Anqitue". Whatever the case, we don't use "Primitive" anyway (we say "Apostolic"). If you notice here, we are not using "Nicene" to mean "time between the councils 324-381", instead it is being used 324-800. Frankly, its not our job to make adacemic terms PC / NPoV in your eyes, or to set academic trends. We are just to follow. I am not trying to cause problems. I just thought I would help. Lostcaesar 07:58, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

On closer examination, I would propose merging this article with Ecumenical Councils#The first seven Ecumenical Councils. Obviously, the content and idea of the history of Christianity from 325 to 787 could be expanded into its own article, but right now this article serves no purpose that the Ecumenical Councils page doesn't already serve. Basically, the content here doesn't correspond to either the current or proposed title. Unless we have an actual article that is more than a list of the Seven Ecumenical Councils, I support a merger to Ecumencial Councils instead of a rename.-Andrew c 13:17, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

The move sounds fine. We will still need an article on this peroid in Church history, but that will come in time. Lostcaesar 11:21, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Era of the Seven Ecumenical Councils would be another option. 75.15.203.219 21:00, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

I support the merge; the article on the period, when written, should be called Late Antique Christianity. Nicene Christianity means that (large) section of Christendom which accepts the (first) Council of Nicaea. Septentrionalis PMAnderson 22:42, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

Missed It

Ok... so I missed the conversation... but this is not discussing the historical era, it is discussing the theological school of thought.

Mormonism

Mormons aren't Christians. I could go buy a Chicago Bears jersey and wear it but that doesn't make me a Chicago Bear. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.109.124.134 (talk) 18:51, 9 April 2016 (UTC)